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\f0\b\fs24 \cf2 Dangerous Heat Wave Won't Let Up across U.S.\
\b0 by Andrew Freedman\
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\cf2 July 2, 2018 \'96 Extreme heat and humidity will continue through the end of the holiday week across the eastern U.S. Then it shifts westward, roasting the Midwest and Great Plains, potentially setting records and intensifying ongoing wildfires\'a0all the way to California.\'a0\
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\i \cf2 Why It Matters\
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\i0 \cf2 Heat is the top weather killer in the U.S. during most years. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 600 people are killed every year due to heat-related illnesses in the U.S.\
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\i \cf2 Details\
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\i0 \cf2 Shortly before noon on Monday, the heat index (a combination of the air temperature and humidity) in Washington, D.C. had already surged past 100\'b0F. Same for Philadelphia, Baltimore and parts of New York City. The air temperature is forecast to flirt with the century mark from Albany to New York City southward to Washington. Heat indices reaching as high as 110\'b0F or higher, prompting the National Weather Service to issue excessive heat warnings.\
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\i \cf2 Historical Context\
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\i0 \cf2 The actual air temperatures during this heat wave are not smashing all-time records in most cases, since they're only 10 to 20\'b0F above average for this time of year. However, the combination of heat and humidity, plus the long duration of this event, make it a public health threat.\'a0\
Daily\'a0high temperature records\'a0have fallen in some places, along with records for the highest overnight low temperature.\'a0\
Research has shown when air temperatures fail to cool below about 80\'b0F overnight, the risk of heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke, increases.\'a0 On Sunday night into Monday morning, the temperature failed to drop below that 80\'b0 threshold in New York City and other locations along the East Coast.\'a0\
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\i \cf2 What's Next\
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\i0 \cf2 The heat should peak along the East Coast on Monday, but high temperatures all week are likely to reach or exceed 90\'b0F from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, which may put this event in the top 10 for long duration heat events.\'a0\
Meteorologists define heat waves as occurring once the temperature hits or goes above 90\'b0 for at least 3 consecutive days. Many locations in the East are on their 4th or 5th such day as of Monday, with no relief expected until next weekend.\'a0\
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\i \cf2 The Big Picture\
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\i0 \cf2 This heat wave has been triggered by an unusually intense, sprawling area of high pressure, also known as a "heat dome," that is parked across the eastern 1/3 of the nation. The clockwise flow of air around it is drawing hot, sultry air northward from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing unusually humid conditions as far north as Quebec and Ontario. This high pressure area is expected to slide to the west with time, ensuring that much of the lower 48 states eventually experience this event.\'a0\
For the period of June 21 through June 29, as the heat wave was beginning, the U.S. set or tied 165 record high temperatures, along with 411 record warm overnight low temperatures.\'a0\
This compared to just 62 daily record cold temperatures and 36 record lows during the same period.\'a0\
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\i \cf2 Be Smart\
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\i0 \cf2 Peer reviewed studies\'a0show that heat waves are already becoming more likely and more intense across the globe as the overall climate warms due to rising amounts of greenhouse gases in the air. The connection between global warming and heat waves is the best understood and least controversial of any type of extreme weather events. One trend that's been most closely tied to climate change is an increase in overnight low temperatures.\
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\cf2 www.axios.com/dangerous-heat-wave-high-temperatures-heat-index-0984be66-9e10-4375-a781-1d82a1702af7.html?utm_source=EHN&utm_campaign=795156a3ae-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8573f35474-795156a3ae-99034245}